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THE NIGHT SCHOOL IN THE FOREST 


























































































































































GOING TO SCHOOL 
IN ANIMAL LAND 


BY 

JULIA DARROW COWLES 


AUTHOR OF 

“ROBINSON CRUSOE READER * , 
“STORIES TO TELL ’ * 


ILLUSTRATED BY 

DOROTHY DULIN 


A. FLANAGAN COMPANY 


CHICAGO 


T'ZlO 

.3 

(} 0 


COPYRIGHT, 1917, BY A. FLANAGAN COMPANY 





MAR 24 1917 

t/ , 


©CI.A46002G 



CONTENTS 


N 

© 

PAGE 


Little Cub Ruff; his Adventure with the Baby 
Houses. 11 

Little Owl Who-oo ; his First Day in School .... 24 

Furry Fleet-Foot ; who Ran Away from School . . 37 

Billy Bull-Frog ; his Adventure at Singing School 51 

Shorty Little-Fox; how he Lost his Tail. 60 

The Story of Pip; the Chicken that Wanted to 

Fly. 71 

Nibblekin ; the Mouse that Ate a Kitten. 83 

Henny Speckle’s Daddles; who Would Not Wear 
a Bib . 95 


Hff V" ' 































































































. 














ILLUSTRATIONS 


The Night School in the Forest.Frontispiece 

PAGE 

Little Cub Ruff. H 

“They Caught Some Partridge”. 17 

“Mother Bear Scarcely Knew Him”. 21 

Little Owl Who-oo. 24 

“Cub Ruff Gave a Terrible Growl”. 29 

Furry Fleet-Foot . 37 

“All at Once Furry Fleet-Foot Stopped”. 40 

“The Lily Buds were Just De-li-cious”. 42 

“The Bear was Caught Fast in a Trap”. 47 

Billy Bull-Frog. 51 

“He Jumped—K-plunk—right into the Water”- 55 

Shorty Little-Fox. 60 

“ ‘I Had to Run for My Life’ ”. 62 

“He Turned Around with a Quick Bark of Pain .. 67 

71 


Pip 
















8 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 


“Pip Was Always the Last One Under’’. 73 

“He Dropped right upon the Straw Stack”. 80 

Nibblekin . 83 

“He Started up the Attic Stairs”. 91 

Daddies . 95 

“It Disturbed Henny Speckle To Have Daddies so 
Large” . 97 

“ 4 Jim Crow, Would You Wear a Bib?’ ”. 100 









GOING TO SCHOOL 
IN ANIMAL LAND 

















































































































£ ' 

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Little Cub Ruff 

HIS ADVENTURE WITH THE BABY HOUSES 

O NCE there was a little cub named Ruff 
who lived in the woods with Father 
Bear and Mother Bear. 

Now Little Cub Ruff was very curious about 
everything he saw. He always wanted to 
know what it was, and why it was there, and 
how it came to be there. Then he wanted to 
know what it did, and why it did it, and 
how it did it. 

He asked a great many questions of Father 
Bear and Mother Bear, which was a good 

way to find out about tilings. But sometimes 
11 


12 


GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 


lie just went and tried to find out for himself. 

“That is the way Ruff will learn,” said the 
Wise Old Owl, who lived in a tree by the 
edge of Wild Goose Pond. 

The Owl taught a night school which many 
of the forest children attended. He was a 
very learned owl, and was highly respected 
in the neighborhood. 

“Ruff has reached the investigative age”— 
which means the finding-out age—“and he 
will learn many useful lessons through his 
habit of finding out things for himself,” the 
Owl said to Mother Bear. 

“Perhaps,” said Mother Bear, who was a 
trifle old-fashioned, “but, in my opinion, he 
is likely to learn something to his sorrow. I 
think it is much safer for him to ask ques¬ 
tions of his father and mother first.” 

But, as I said, Mother Bear was a trifle old- 
fashioned. 

One day Ruff went out hunting with 
Father Bear. Father Bear was hunting part- 


LITTLE CUB RUFF 


13 


ridge for dinner. Ruff was hunting winter- 
green berries, which he knew, by the delight¬ 
ful scent in the air, must be just turning red 
at this time. 

Wintergreen berries with partridge, taste 
as good as cranberry sauce with turkey, 
you know. 

Well, as Father Bear and Ruff went along 
toward the edge of the woods, they came all 
at once in sight of something very big and 
square. Ruff never had seen anything like it. 

“What is it, Father Bear?” he asked—- 
which was quite right, of course, for he 
wanted to know. 

“It’s a house,” said Father Bear, in his 
deep, growly voice. He had stopped short at 
sight of it. 

“How did it come there?” asked Ruff. 

“Men built it,” answered Father Bear. 

“Why did they build it?” asked Ruff again. 

“They built it to live in,” said Father Bear, 
sniffing his nose about curiously. 




14 GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 

Ruff sniffed his nose about, too, and he sort 
of imagined that he smelled something good. 

“What good does the house do them?” he 
asked after a minute—for he still wanted to 
know. 

“It keeps off the rain and the cold,” said 
Father Bear, still sniffing his nose about, and 
speaking in his deep, growly voice. 

“How did they build it?” asked Ruff again. 

“With queer things they call tools, and 
with boards cut from the trees,” Father Bear 
answered. He was a very patient Father 
Bear. 

“Why don’t they live in hollow trees, as we 
do?” questioned Ruff. 

“Because they like to make themselves a 
great deal of work, instead of taking things 
as nature provides them,” said Father Bear, 
and this time his voice was so very growly 
that Ruff decided not to ask any more ques¬ 
tions. Besides, he could not think of any 
more to ask just then. 


LITTLE CUB RUFF 


15 


Father Bear started off in another direc¬ 
tion through the woods to hunt for partridge, 
and Ruff started to follow him, when he 
caught sight of something that he thought 
must be a whole row of little, baby houses. 

They were square, like the big house, and 
made of boards, too, only they were so very, 
very little; and he believed—yes, he was 
quite sure—it was from them that a most 
delicious scent came. 

It made him think of a time, many months 
before, when Father Bear had been off hunt¬ 
ing, and had come back with the most 
delightful sweet stuff that Ruff ever had 
tasted. And he never had had any of it to 
eat since then, for Father Bear had told him 
that it was very hard to get. 

Now, as Ruff followed along after Father 
Bear, he kept thinking of the little, baby 
houses, and of that delicious sweet scent that 
came from them. 

Soon Father Bear began talking to Ruff. 


16 


GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 


“You must be very careful to keep away 
from men, Ruff,” he said, “because very often 
they have a thing called a gun in their 
hands.” 

“What is a gun?” asked Ruff—which was 
quite right, for he wanted to know. 

“A gun is a long stick that has fire in it. 
And the fire makes a big noise when it comes 
out. Men can kill you with that fire, without 
touching you,” said Father Bear in his very 
deepest growly voice. 

“How do they make guns?” asked Ruff. 
His eyes were very wide open. 

“With tools, too, I suppose,” answered Fa¬ 
ther Bear. 

“Why can not we make guns?” said Ruff. 

But when Father Bear answered that ques¬ 
tion, his voice had grown so very growly that 
Ruff could not understand a word he said. 

Then Father Bear went on to tell Ruff how 
very dangerous it was to have anything to do 
with men; and he told him about the traps 


LITTLE CUB RUFF 


17 


which they set, but which a 
wise bear could tell by the 
man-scent about them. And 
he promised some day to teach 
Ruff what the man-scent was, 
so that he could keep away 
from it. 

“Is it sweetf” asked Ruff, 
remembering the baby houses. 
“No, not sweet,” answered 
patient Father Bear. 

So Ruff followed Father 
Bear along home; and th( 
caught some partridge c 
the way, and Ruff found 
a whole lot of fine ripe^ 
wintergreen berries, ^ 
and my! how good 
their dinner did taste 
when they sat down 
to eat it with dear 
Mother Bear. 






18 GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 

That night Ruff was going to ask Father 
Bear about the row of little, little houses; but 
he remembered, what Father Bear had said 
about men, and about how dangerous every¬ 
thing around them was—and that sweet scent 
was so good! 

Then Ruff remembered what the Wise Old 
Owl up in the tree had said, about his learn¬ 
ing many useful lessons through his habit 
of finding out things for himself, and he 
decided that he would not ask Father Bear 
about the baby houses at all. 

Sometime he would find out for himself. 
That would be much nicer than just asking 
questions. 

The next day when Father Bear went off 
hunting alone, and Mother Bear was busy 
sweeping out the bones that had been left 
from breakfast, Ruff decided to go off by 
himself and find out what the sweet scent 
was that came from the baby houses on the 
edge of the woods. 


LITTLE CUB RUFF 


19 


Ruff remembered what Father Bear had 
said about the men and the guns, and he 
remembered, too, what Mother Bear had said 
about his getting into trouble; but he knew 
she was thought to be a trifle old-fashioned, 
and though he loved her dearly, he thought 
the Wise Old Owl must really know better. 

So Ruff started off through the woods, and 
soon he came in sight of the big house, and 
of the whole row of little houses. And he 
could smell that sweet stuff that he remem¬ 
bered, just as plainly! 

Ruff looked all about, but he could not see 
any man. He was sure he would know a 
man if he should see one, for Father Bear 
had told him that men had four legs like 
other animals, but they only knew how to 
w’alk on two; and they had no hair on their 
skins. 

But Ruff did not see any man, and he crept 
slowly up, up toward the baby houses—and 
the sweet scent grew stronger and stronger. 


20 


GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 


When Ruff got up close beside the first 
little house, he looked all around it. Then he 
rose up on his hind legs and looked on top. 
But there was no door anywhere! 

The scent had grown so strong now, that 
Ruff could almost taste the sweet, messy stuff 
that he remembered so well, and so, as there 
was no door, he just raised up one of his big 
fore-paws and gave the little house a hard 
cuff —and over it went. 

But, oh, my! oh, my!! oh, my!!! 

Before Ruff could give one lick of his 
tongue into the sweet stuff that was all inside 
the house, the queerest little yellow-and- 
black things darted out by hundreds and 
hundreds; and they stung him and bit him, 
and stabbed him, until he just rolled over 
and over on the ground, and tried to rub them 
off from his face with his paws. 

Then he jumped up and ran, limping and 
crying, to the tree-home, where Mother Bear 
was just finishing her morning work. 


LITTLE CUB RUFF 


21 


And Mother Bear scarcely knew him, his 
face was so sivollen from bee stings! 

But when Ruff called out, “Oh, Mother 
Bear, something dreadful has happened to 



me,” she ran for some salve, and rubbed it 
upon his poor, swollen face; and then she put 
him to bed. 

Soon Father Bear came home, and after 
awhile, when Ruff was better, he told them 
about the baby houses, and the sweet scent, 
and the angry little yellow-and-black things 
that had stabbed him. 




22 


GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 


“What did 1 tell you about the man- 
things?” said Father Bear in such a growly 
voice that Ruff whimpered, “I know it; but 
the Wise Old Owl said I should learn many 
useful lessons from my habit of finding out 
things for myself, and I thought he knew.” 

And at that, Mother Bear exclaimed, 
“There! What did I tell that Owl? I shall 
just have him come over here and see what 
has happened because of his new-fangled 
teaching!” And she started right away for 
Wild-Goose Pond. 

But the Wise Old Owl was very busy, and 
he could not come! 

One day, after Ruff was very much better 
and able to sit in the sunshine Father Bear 
came home, holding his paws behind him. 

“Guess what I have!” he said to Ruff, and 
his voice was not the least bit growly. 

And Ruff guessed quail and wintergreen 
berries, and wild turkey, but at each guess 
Father Bear shook his head. 


LITTLE CUB RUFF 


23 


Ruff’s nose was still so s\tfollen that he 
could not smell. 

At last Father Bear took his paws from 
behind his back and held them out toward 
Ruff, and they were dripping with— honey! 

Ruff gave Mother Bear a piece of the 
sweet, messy comb. And when he had licked 
the last drop from his own sticky paws and 
his fat little stomach, he said to Father Bear, 
“Father Bear, the next time I want to find 
out anything, I’ll ask you and Mother Bear 
first.” 

And then you should have seen the bear- 
hugs that they gave to Little Cub Ruff! 





1 ) 


Little Owl Who -oo 

HIS FIRST DAY IN SCHOOL 

D O YOU remember the night school in 
the forest, down by the edge of Wild- 
Gloose Pond? 

Well, the Wise Old Owl who taught the 
night school had a grandson, and the grand¬ 
son’s name was Little Owl Who-oo. He 
named himself, you know, and this was the 
way it happened. 

A very little while after Little Owl Who-oo 
came out of the shell, his grandfather came 
to look at him. 


24 



LITTLE OWL WH0-00 


25 


Now, baby owls, just out of the shell, are 
not a bit pretty to look at, and at first Grand¬ 
father Owl did not know what to say. He 
shook his head wisely up and down, took 
off his spectacles and wiped them carefully, 
and put them on again. Then he looked the 
baby owl all over, and at last he said in a 
very deep voice, “What—is—his—name?” 

“Wlio-oo,” said the baby owl, in a very 
squeaky little voice. It was the first word 
he ever had spoken. 

“That is a very—good—name,” said the 
Wise Old Owl. “That name has been in our 
family for many—hundred—years.” 

Then he settled his glasses more firmly 
upon his nose, and flew back to the top of 
the tree. 

And that is the way Little Owl Who-oo 
got his name. 

It was only a few weeks after this that 
Mother Owl said to Father Owl, “I think it 
is time little Owl Who-oo went to school. 


26 GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 

I expect him to learn very fast, because he 
will have his grandfather to teach him.” 

“Do you not think it is a little early for 
him to begin?” asked Father Owl. 

“No, indeed,” replied Mother Owl. “You 
know it takes a very long time to learn every¬ 
thing, and I think he should begin at once.” 

So it was decided that Little Owl Who-oo 
should go to night school with the other 
forest children. 

The very next day, as soon as twilight 
came, Mother Owl brushed Little Owl 
Who-oo’s feathers, wiped his spectacles very 
clean and bright, and settled them firmly 
over his nose. Then she tied on his funny 
little two-pointed cap and sent him off to 
school. “Hurry along now, and don’t you 
be late,” she said, “and be sure you are a 
good little owl and learn your lessons.” 

Little Owl Who-oo promised to be very 
good indeed, and he flew happily away to 
the big forest tree in which Grandfather Owl 


LITTLE OWL WH0-00 


27 


held his night school for the forest children. 

“Good evening, Grandfather,” he said 
politely, as he lighted upon a branch. “I 
have come to school.” 

“Oh, indeed!” replied the Wise Old Owl. 
“Well, well!” And then, as he could not 
think of anything else to say, he said “Well, 
well!” again. 

Then he found a book for Little Owl 
Who-oo and showed him where the lesson 
began. 

“You may sit right here on this branch 
near me,” he said. Then he looked very hard 
at Little Owl Who-oo and added, “Now see 
that you study—your—lesson.” 

Little Owl Who-oo blinked very fast. 
Then he took the book and tried to hold it 
open at the lesson. But it was dreadful^ 
hard to hold the book with one foot and bal¬ 
ance on the branch of the tree with the other. 
Lie had always had both feet to stand upon 
before. 


28 


GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 


After awhile he learned to manage his 
book better, and then he began to study his 
lesson very hard. But as soon as he began 
to study his lesson real hard he forgot to keep 
his balance; and when he tried to keep his 
balance he lost the place in the book. 

“Dear me,” said Little Owl Who-oo to him¬ 
self, “going to school is very hard work.” 

And just then the Wise Old Owl turned to 
Little Owl Who-oo and said in his very deep 
voice, “If one big green caterpillar swallows 
one small green caterpillar, how—many—are 
—there—then ?” 

Little Owl Who-oo hadn’t the least idea! 

He felt dreadfully ashamed, and he tried 
to find the place in his book right away. But 
before he found the place he lost his balance 
again, so he put his other foot down to keep 
from falling. 

He didn’t fall, but of course when he put 
his other foot down he dropped his book, 
and it struck Cub Ruff right on the head! 


LITTLE OWL WHO-OO 


29 


Cub Ruff gave a terrible 
growl that scared poor Little 
Owl Who-oo ’most out of 
his wits. But Billy Bull- 
Frog and Polly Water-Frog 
laughed until their sides 
shook, and Shorty Little- 
Fox barked right out loud. 

“Order!” called the Wise 
Old Owl in such a very big 
voice that Cub Ruff stopped 
growling, and Shorty Little- 
Fox and Billy Bull-Frog and 
Polly Water-Frog stopped 
laughing, and everybody be¬ 
gan studying very hard. 

Af ter awhile Little Owl 
Who-oo began to feel hun¬ 
gry. He kept right on study¬ 
ing, but the longer he 
studied, the hungrier he got. 

“Oh, dear! School hours 



“CUB RUFF GAVE A 
TERRIBLE GROWL” 




30 


GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 


are so dreadfully long,” he said to himself. 

Just then he began to smell something, and 
it smelled so good! 

“It is field mouse, I know,” he said under 
his breath. “Nothing ever smells so good as 
field mouse.” 

So he began to look around, and pretty 
soon he discovered, tucked away in a crotch 
of the tree close by him, two little field mice 
rolled up in a nice green leaf. 

It was Grandfather Owl’s lunch that he had 
brought to eat at recess. 

“Oh, dear,” said Little Owl Who-oo, 
“Mother forgot to put up any lunch for me, 
and my stomach is so empty!” 

And the hungrier he got, the better those 
field mice smelled. 

He forgot all about his book and his arith¬ 
metic lesson, thinking about those field mice 
and of how good they smelled. And after 
awhile he said to himself, “Of course Grand¬ 
father would not care!” And then he reached 


LITTLE OWL WHO-OO 


31 


over and pulled one of the little field mice 
out of the nice green leaf and ate it, quick 
as a wink. And it tasted so dreadfully good 
that he reached over and pulled the second 
little field mouse out of the green leaf and ate 
that, too! 

And before he had finished swallowing it, 
the Wise Old Owl turned to him and asked 
solemnly, “If there are two field mice in one 
nest, and two field mice in another nest, how 
many field mice—is—that?” 

Little Owl Who-oo tried to swallow very 
fast. He stammered, and stuttered, and 
blinked his eyes, and swallowed hard but he 
could not say a word! 

Then the Wise Old Owl said sternly, “Lit¬ 
tle Owl Who-oo, you will have to study your 
lesson much better—than—this!” 

And Little Owl Who-oo was so ashamed, 
because he knew perfectly well that two field 
mice and two field mice make four field mice 
—only he thought that Grandfather Owl was 


32 GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 

talking about the two field mice that he had 
just eaten. 

Anyway, he was very glad that it was just 
the field mice in the book that he had been 
asked about, so he finished swallowing the 
second little field mouse, and he felt ever so 
much better, because he was not so hungry. 

Then he began to study his lesson again, 
very hard indeed, but he had scarcely begun 
when he heard the Wise Old Owl say, “It is 
now time for recess. You may eat your 
lunches and play awhile. Put your books 
away.” 

At that, something seemed to jump right 
up in Little Owl Who-oo’s throat. Perhaps 
it was one of the field mice—I am not sure. 

Little Owl Who-oo swallowed and swal¬ 
lowed, but it would not go down. And while 
he was swallowing, Grandfather Owl turned 
around and looked into the crotch of the tree 
where he always put his lunch, and—it was 
not there! 


LITTLE OWL WHO-OO 


33 


“Who has taken—my—lunch?” said Grand¬ 
father Owl in such a dreadful voice that all 
the leaves on the tree just shook. 

And Little Owl Who-oo shook, too. You 
may be very sure he did! 

Then all the forest children looked scared, 
for such a thing never had happened before, 
in the whole history of the night school in 
the forest. 

Cub Ruff stopped eating his bread and 
honey, and Furry Fleet-Foot stopped nib¬ 
bling his tree buds, and Shorty Little-Fox 
dropped his.chicken wing, and Billy Bull- 
Frog and Polly Water-Frog forgot that their 
lunch-flies were still alive, and let every one 
of them get away! 

But Little Owl Who-oo just sat on the 
branch of the tree and shivered. 

“Who has taken—my—lunch?” asked 
Grandfather Owl, in even a more terrible 
voice than before; and when Little Owl 
Who-oo saw how dreadfully scared all the 


34 


GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 


forest children were, he just fluffed up his 
feathers and said, quickly, “I did!” 

He had to say it quickly, because if he had 
not he would have been too scared to say it 
at all. 

Grandfather Owl looked at him a very long 
time before he could say a word. And Little 
Owl Who-oo kept blinking and swallowing, 
and swallowing and blinking because he was 
so frightened. 

“Why did you take—my—lunch?” Grand¬ 
father Owl asked at last. 

And Little Owl Who-oo swallowed hard 
again, and said in a very small voice, “Be¬ 
cause I was so hungry.” 

Then Grandfather Owl looked hard at Lit¬ 
tle Owl Who-oo and said, “Little Owl Who-oo, 
you may go right home to your mother; and 
tell her not to send you to school again for 
—thirteen—days. Perhaps by that time you 
may be old enough to behave properly—in 
—school.” 


LITTLE OWL WHO-OO 


35 


So Little Owl Who-oo spread his wings and 
flew toward home as fast as ever he could. 

He was dreadfully sorry, and so ashamed, 
because he had intended to be very good 
indeed in Grandfather Owl’s night school. 
He had not tvanted to lose his balance, or to 
drop his book, or to get so very, very hungry. 

“I wonder,” thought Little Owl Who-oo, 
“what Mother Owl will say.” But as soon as 
he reached home he told Father Owl and 
Mother Owl all about it. 

Then Father Owl said to Mother Owl, “Did 
I not tell you it was too early to send him to 
school?” 

An d Mother Owl answered, “Yes, but it 
takes so long to learn everything, I thought 
he could not begin too soon.” 

By this time it was almost morning, and 
time for Little Owl Who-oo to go to bed. 
He was dreadfully sleepy. So Mother Owl 
tucked Little Owl Who-oo’s feathers around 
him and put him carefully into his tree bed. 


36 


GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 


And then she asked him, sorrowfully, “Little 
Owl Who-oo, why did you not behave better 
in school to-day?” 

Little Owl Who-oo nodded, half asleep, and 
his voice was almost lost in his feathers. 
“I guess,” he answered drowsily, “it was 
because I could not balance on—one—foot— 
and—study—with—the other.” 






Furry Fleet-Foot 

WHO RAN AWAY FROM SCHOOL 

F ERRY FLEET-FOOT lived in the for¬ 
est with Mother Deer and Brother Deer. 
Furry Fleet-Foot and Brother Deer went to 
school. Mother Deer kept the house, and 
made the beds, and did the marketing. 

Their home in the forest was very beauti¬ 
ful. The green tree boughs made the roof; 
the floors were covered with rich leaf-mould 
and soft moss; and the pictures upon the 
walls were of blue sky, and waving branches, 
and nodding flowers. It was a very beautiful 

37 


38 


GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 


home, and Mother Deer, and Furry Fleet- 
Foot, and Brother Deer all loved it. 

They had a very happy time together, but 
sometimes — sometimes — Furry Fleet-Foot 
wanted to have his own way; and that always 
made trouble. 

One morning, after he had finished the 
breakfast of tender twigs which Mother Deer 
had found for him, she said, “Now run along 
to school, Furry Fleet-Foot. Brother Deer is 
waiting for you.” 

“But I am still hungry,” said Furry Fleet- 
Foot coaxingly. • 

He did wish that Mother Deer would give 
him something besides tender twigs for 
breakfast. He had those every morning. 
And tender twigs were such plain food! 

“Nonsense!” answered Mother Deer. “You 
have eaten twice as much as Brother Deer. 
If you eat too much you will not be able to 
study your lessons well, for then you cannot 
run, and jump, and hide so easily.” 


FURRY FLEET-FOOT 


39 


Furry Fleet-Foot looked only half con¬ 
vinced. 

“Just think,” continued Mother Deer, 
“about the bear family, and the fox fam¬ 
ily, and the wolf family. They are dreadful 
eaters! Can any of them run, or jump, or 
leap as we do?” 

“Oh, no,” said Furry Fleet-Foot, but he 
still spoke in a very half-hearted fashion. 

“Now run along to school,” said Mother 
Deer briskly. “Baby deer must not he 
greedy.” 

So Furry Fleet-Foot and Brother Deer 
started off to school together, bounding along 
the smooth ground, and leaping over the 
fallen logs, until they came in sight of Wild- 
Goose Pond. Then all at once Furry Fleet- 
Foot stopped, and planted his four pretty 
feet firmly upon the ground. 

It was almost school time, and Furry Fleet- 
Foot knew it. But down by the edge of Wild- 
Goose Pond, the water lilies were budded, 
















FURRY FLEET-FOOT 


41 


and Furry Fleet-Foot could see them. And 
water-lily buds were so good to eat! 

“I’m going to have a taste of lily-buds, 
before I go to school,” he said, with a stamp 
of his pretty hoof, and a wig-wag of his 
stumpy tail. 

“But you’ll be late,” said Brother Deer, 
looking straight ahead at the school yard in 
the forest, and breathing with short little 
breaths, so that he should not smell the lily 
buds. 

And then Furry Fleet-Foot said something 
dreadful. He said, “I don’t care!” And he 
tossed his head, and ran down to Wild-Goose 
Pond. 

The lily buds were just de-li-cious, and 
Furry Fleet-Foot ate and ate. 

After awhile Furry Fleet-Foot’s stomach 
began to feel dreadfully queer and bulgy, and 
he decided that he wouldn’t eat any more lily 
buds just then. 

“I’ll just take a run around the pond,” he 


42 GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 



said to himself, though he knew that he ought 
to go straight to school. 

So he planted his four pretty feet close 
together and gave a great bound, and off he 
went, faster than you can think. 

“This is very much nicer than being in 
school,” Furry Fleet-Foot said to himself. “I 
suppose Brother Deer is learning to follow 
the leader, or to jump a fallen tree without 





FURRY FLEET-FOOT 


43 


making a noise, or to cover himself among 
the bushes so he cannot be seen by man. But 
I think it is more fun just to run and jump 
and hide as you please.” 

Wild-Goose Pond was a lovely place to 
play. 

When Furry Fleet-Foot was half-way 
around, he said to himself, “I wish I had 
some one to play with me.” 

And just at that minute, there rose up 
from behind the log that he was all ready to 
jump, a big, black bear. 

“Oh, my!” exclaimed Furry Fleet-Foot, and 
he tried so suddenly to stop himself, that he 
fell all in a heap behind the log. 

Oh, how frightened he was! 

Furry Fleet-Foot scrambled up as fast 
as ever he could, and was just ready to bound 
away, when he heard the big Bear say, in a 
very polite voice, “Please don’t hurry off. 
I’m quite lonely here; and besides, I have a 
most interesting story to tell you.” 


44 


GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 


Furry Fleet-Foot stopped, just a minute, 
with his feet planted ready to spring, but in 
that minute he discovered something. The 
Bear was caught fast in a trap. 

“Don’t be afraid,” said the Bear, still in a 
very polite voice. “I would not harm you for 
the world. Please don’t hurry away.” 

Furry Fleet-Foot stood still another min¬ 
ute. “What a very strange bear!” he said to 
himself. “Mother Deer always tells me that 
bears are cross and ugly, and would eat us up, 
if they got a chance. This bear doesn’t seem 
a bit cross, and he says he wouldn’t harm me 
for the world.” 

Then Furry Fleet-Foot shook his head, 
wig-wagged his stumpy little tail, and 
stamped one foot hard upon the ground, as 
much as to say, “What is it you want? I’m 
not in the least afraid.” 

“That’s right,” said the Bear. “Most deer 
would run away, but you are brave; though 
really, there is no need at all of being afraid.” 


FURRY FLEET-FOOT 


45 


“What a very pleasant bear,” said Furry 
to himself. “I’m sure Mother Deer must 
have met some very ill-bred bears, not at all 
like this one.” 

“Ka-a-a,” came a call just then through the 
woods. 

Furry Fleet-Foot knew well enough what 
it meant. Mother Deer must have found out 
that he was not at school, and now she was 
calling to him to come. 

But Wild-Goose Pond was such a de-light- 
ful place, and the old Bear was so sociable and 
friendly, and besides—Furry did want to 
hear the story he had promised to tell him! 

So, instead of answering, “Ka-a-a,” and 
bounding away to Mother Deer, he just shook 
his head and stamped his foot, and moved a 
very cautious step nearer to the old Bear. 

And when Mother Deer called “Ka-a-a-a,” 
again, he just wig-wagged his tail in the 
naughtiest manner, and pretended not to 
hear. 


46 


GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 


The old Bear knew what the call meant, as 
well as Furry Fleet-Foot did, and when Furry 
wouldn’t answer it, he winked one eye—but 
it was the eye that Furry couldn’t see. 

“What about that story you were going to 
tell me?” asked Furry, taking a nibble of 
twigs. 

“Oh, yes,” answered the old Bear, very 
politely. “Just lie down, do, while I tell it 
to you.” 

“No thank you,” answered Furry, “I like 
to stand where I can reach these twigs.” 

There was an odor about the old Bear that 
Furry Fleet-Foot did not like, but of course 
he was too polite to tell the Bear, so he just 
pretended he wanted to eat the twigs. They 
were very tender, nice twigs, but Furry Fleet- 
Foot’s stomach was so full of lily buds that 
he really couldn’t swallow another mouthful. 

“You see,” said the old Bear, “that I am¬ 
ah—er—caught in a trap-.” 

Furry nodded. 


FURRY FLEET-FOOT 


47 


“It is just a joke,” the Bear added, “all a 
joke. The men who put me here were very 



“THE BEAR WAS CAUGHT FAST IN A TRAP” 


careful that I should not be hurt. They are 
very nice, kind men.” 

Furry Fleet-Foot wig-wagged his tail. “I 
never heard of nice, kind men,” he said. 

“There are different sorts of men,” said the 
old Bear, wisely nodding his head. 

“Oh!” said Furry, trying to look wise, too. 

“And these men,” resumed the old Bear, 






48 GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 

“are going to take me on a train, to a beau¬ 
tiful park, where there are all kinds of 
animals.” 

“What is a train?” asked Furry Fleet-Foot. 

“A train is something that men make, and 
it takes you along faster than any deer can 
run,” said the old Bear, wagging his head 
knowingly. 

“Do you suppose that they would take me, 
too?” asked Furry eagerly. 

“I’m sure they would,” said the old Bear, 
quite hugging himself with delight, and smil¬ 
ing dreadfully. 

“Come up here, close to me,” he said, “and 
I’ll whisper in your ear something I heard 
them say about it.” 

“Can’t you tell me from here?” asked 
Furry, pretending to nip another twig. 

“No, I really can’t,” said the old Bear in his 
very politest voice. “I’m afraid the men may 
be somewhere around, and I wouldn’t have 
them hear me for the world.” 


FURRY FLEET-FOOT 


49 


“What fun it would be,” thought Furry 
Fleet-Foot, “ to go faster than any deer can 
run!” 

He tipped his head to one side, nibbled a 
twig, and wig-wagged his tail. He did want 
to know the old Bear’s secret, but—how could 
he go any nearer when that dreadful odor was 
so strong? 

Suddenly a twig in the woods near-by 
snapped, and Furry wheeled around, threw 
up his head, and planted his feet. He had 
been taught at school always to pay attention 
when a twig snapped in the woods. 

There, right at the edge of the forest, were 
the very two men that the old Bear had been 
talking about, and both of them were aiming 
their guns! 

Furry Fleet-Foot gave a bound, and then 
another bound. 

“Come back!” called the old Bear with a 
terrible growl. “I’ll tell you my secret—and 
I’ll eat you alive!” 


50 


GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 


Bang! Bang! went the guns. But Furry 
Fleet-Foot was almost home. 

And the next day, Furry Fleet-Foot went 
to school! 




Billy Bull-Frog 

HIS ADVENTURE AT SINGING-SCHOOL 

B ILLY BULL-FROG buttoned up his gay 
yellow vest, turned the collar of his best 
green coat well up about his ears—for the 
evenings were still a bit chilly—and tucked 
his new songbook under his arm. 

He was going to singing-school, down by 
the edge of Wild-Goose Pond. 

Professor K-Chug was the teacher, and all 
the small frogs of the neighborhood took les¬ 
sons from him. 


51 


52 


GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 


He had a deep bass voice, and could swell 
his throat to wonderful size, when he sang. 

Billy Bull-Frog hippety-hopped down the 
path, jumped across a bit of water, and 
landed plump, right in the middle of a lily- 
pad. 

All the little frogs were furnished with 
lily-pad seats, and Professor K-Chug stood on 
the biggest lily-pad of all, and beat time with 
a smooth and shining fishbone. 

The fishbone had a very sharp point; and 
sometimes, when a little frog was very inat¬ 
tentive, Professor K-Chug would suddenly 
poke him in the ribs with it—which always 
made the little frog sit up straight and blink 
very hard for a few minutes. 

Singing-school always began just as the 
last ray of sunlight stole away from Wild- 
Goose Pond. Then Professor K-Chug would 
stand up very tall and straight on his lily- 
pad., place his green goggles astride his nose, 
open his singing-book, and waving his fish- 


BILLY BULL-FROG 


53 


bone, would say, “One, two, three, ready, 
now!” 

And then you should have heard those 
little frogs sing! 

On this particular evening, when Billy 
Bull-Frog landed— plump —on his lily-pad, 
he was thinking so much about his yellow 
vest and his new green coat, that when Pro¬ 
fessor K-Chug raised his fishbone and said, 
“now” —Billy forgot to sing! 

I think he was looking at little Polly 
Water-Frog, who sat on the next lilv-pad, to 
see if she had noticed his fine suit. 

But Polly was singing with all her might. 

Billy felt very much hurt, but he made up 
his mind that she should look. So he put one 
foot down into the water and began to make 
little waves. 

The waves rocked Polly’s lily-pad, but 
before Billy had time to see whether or not 
she was going to look at him, he felt a sharp 
prick in his ribs. 


54 


GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 


It was Professor K-Chug’s fishbone! 

Billy forgot he was at singing-school, and 
he jumped— k-plunk —right into the water. 

The Professor stopped singing. He took 
off his goggles and rubbed them hard. Then 
he put them on again and stared straight at 
Billy’s empty lily-pad. 

Never before had a little frog dared to run 
away from his school. 

He could scarcely believe his eyes. 

“Where is Billy Bull-Frog?” he asked, in a 
big, rumbly voice. 

And Polly Water-Frog raised her hand and 
said, timidly, “I think, sir, that he dived 
under his seat.” 

At that Professor K-Chug took off his 
green goggles, laid his fishbone across the 
page of his singing-book to keep his place, 
and dived straight under Billy’s empty seat. 

Billy saw him coming and swam away. 
But he was so frightened that he bumped his 
head against the stem of Polly Water-Frog’s 



“HE JUMPED—K-PLUNK-RIGHT INTO THE WATEJt” 






















































































































































































































































































































































































































56 GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 

lily-pad, and nearly tipped her off. He also 
scraped all the skin off his own nose. 

His nose hurt him dreadfully, but he 
couldn’t hold it and swim, too, so he just 
had to let it hurt. 

When the Professor saw that he could not 
catch Billy, he swam back, and climbed upon 
his lily pad again. Then he put on his gog¬ 
gles, took up his songbook and fishbone, and 
began to sing at just the same place at which 
he had left off. 

And all the little frogs sang, too—but they 
kept wondering where Billy was, and tvhat 
would become of Mm. 

When Billy found that the Professor was 
not following him, he sat down on a stone 
to rest, and to think what he should do next. 

He was very much frightened to think that 
he had run away from school, for he had not 
intended to, in the least. But he did not 
dare go back now, and he did not quite like 
to go home, either. 


BILLY BULL-FROG 


57 


“I’ll just play around till time for school to 
be out, and then I’ll go home,” he said to him¬ 
self. “Maybe Father Frog and Mother Frog 
won’t know about it at all!” 

He stood up and looked at his yellow vest. 
Then he turned his head and looked at the 
back of his green coat. 

“I’m glad frog clothes do not spoil by get¬ 
ting wet,” he said, as he turned, now this 
way, now that way, to admire his picture in 
the water. 

He had forgotten his new clothes had been 
the source of all his trouble, when— snap! 

Billy dodged, doubled up his legs and shot 
away through the water. He had just missed 
being swallowed by a big fish. 

“Oh, dear!” said Billy. “I guess everybody 
is after me because I ran away from school.” 

There was no one to play with, so Billy 
began to amuse himself by swimming in and 
out among the stems and reeds that grew 
thick at the edge of Wild-Goose Pond. 


58 GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 

Soon he grew hungry, and began to hunt 
for something to eat. “I wish I could catch 
a minnow, or a water-snail,” he thought. 

Then he saw a strange-looking object 
among the wet grasses. “I wonder what 
that is,” he said. “I never saw anything like 
it before, but it looks as though it might taste 
good, and I am dreadfully hungry .” 

Out flashed Billy’s red tongue, and down 
his throat went the queer-looking object. 

Somehow, it didn’t taste as good as it 
looked, and pretty soon Billy began to feel 
ill. He sat up and rubbed his gay yellow 
vest, and oh! what a pain there was under¬ 
neath it. 

After awhile—when the pain was not quite 
so bad—Billy decided that he would go home, 
and away he hopped. 

“I will just tell Mother Frog all about it!” 
he said—like a wise little frog. And he did. 

And Mother Frog said that she would send 
Father Frog to see the Professor, and, for 


BILLY BULL-PROG 


59 


her part, she thought he had been punished 
enough, since he had not intended to run 
away. 

But the next day, Billy’s gay yellow vest 
covered such a sore stomach, and the end of 
his nose was all swelled up, and hurt him 
dreadfully! Besides, he had a bad sore throat 
from being in the water so long. 

When he went to singing-school that night 
—Mother Frog had tied a red flannel rag 
around his throat to keep it from getting 
worse—he could not find his songbook any¬ 
where —and Polly Water-Frog had to let him 
look on with her. 



Shorty Little-Fox 

HOW HE LOST HIS TAIL 


L ITTLE-FOX was very fond of chicken. 

He would say “Um, um!” and lick his 
chops whenever he heard chicken spoken of; 
and the sight of a chicken would just make 
his mouth water dreadfully! 

Father Fox was a very fine hunter. In 
fact there was not a better hunter anywhere 
around Wild-Groose Pond. 

Little-Fox intended to be a great hunter, 

too; as great a hunter as Father Fox. In 

60 


SHORTY LITTLE-FOX 


61 


fact, he sometimes thought he would be a 
greater hunter—but that was when Father 
Fox came home without any chicken, or even 
a tiny field mouse for supper, and he had to 
go to bed hungry. 

At such times Little-Fox would sit up in 
bed after the candles were put out—it made 
him feel better to sit up because that doubled 
up his little empty stomach and there was not 
so much space to feel hollow—and then he 
would listen to Father Fox telling Mother 
Fox about the night’s hunting. 

“First,” said Father Fox, “I went into the 
woods to see if I could not find a fat turkey, 
and while I was looking up into the branches 
of the trees, I just missed stepping into a 
dreadful steel trap. I think Farmer Jones’s 
boy had put it there,” Father Fox added 
with a shake of his head which showed that 
he knew Farmer Jones’s boy pretty well. 

“That terrible boy!” exclaimed Mother 
Fox, with a snap of her black eyes. 


62 GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 

“Then I thought I would go to the other 
side of the woods and see how Farmer 
Judd’s chickens were roosting,” Father Fox 
resumed; and at that, Little-Fox, sitting up 
in bed, gave his empty stomach a sympa¬ 
thetic hug and said, “Um, um!”—only he said 
it under his breath so that Father Fox and 
Mother Fox could not hear. 


“The chickens were all shut up tight in the 
hen-house,” Father Fox added, “but Towser, 



the dog, was outside of course, and he woke 
up just as I came around the corner. My! 
but I had to run for my life.” 




SHORTY LITTLE-FOX . 63 

“It makes me shiver,” said Mother Fox, 
“to think of the risks you run to get food for 
us all. I would rather go to bed hungry, I 
am sure, than to have you go to such dan¬ 
gerous places,”—which was very kind of 
Mother Fox, Little-Fox thought. He won¬ 
dered if she felt as hollow as he did. 

Little-Fox had four brothers and sisters. 
Their names were Fluff, Yellow-Ball, Light- 
foot, and Bushy. But Little-Fox was the 
littlest of them all, so they just called him 
Little-Fox. That is, they did until he earned 
his new name of “Shorty.” 

Fluff, Yellow-Ball, Lightfoot, and Bushy 
were all very obedient little foxes, and never 
gave Mother Fox any trouble. But Little- 
Fox was more daring; and once he had run 
away as far as the juniper bushes down by 
the pond and Mother Fox had worried about 
him a great deal since then. 

When they were sent to bed, Fluff, Yellow- 
Ball, Lightfoot, and Bushy always lay down 


64 GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 

and went right to sleep. It was only Little- 
Fox who sat up and listened. 

One bright, sunny morning the five little 
foxes ran outdoors to play. 

“You must not go far from the doorway,” 
warned Mother Fox, “or some men or boys 
may see you, and we might all be caught and 
killed.” 

So they all promised to be very careful, 
and Mother Fox went back into the house to 
clear away the breakfast bones. 

They played hard all day. Fluff and Yel¬ 
low-Ball chased their tails until they were 
dizzy, and when they lay down to rest, Little- 
Fox pounced upon them and teased them 
until they both set upon Little-Fox and rolled 
him down the long, sloping hill that was in 
front of their home den. 

Then Fluff and Yellow-Ball ran back up 
the hill, and Little-Fox intended to run back, 
too, but just a that moment he discovered a 
doodle-bug, and he stopped to have some fun. 


SHORTY LITTLE-POX 


65 


He patted the doodle-bug with his paw; then 
he turned it over and watched it get slowly 
back upon its feet; and then he turned it over 

again. 

After awhile he became thirsty, and 
thought he would run down to the edge of 
Wild-Goose Pond for a drink. 

He knew very well that Mother Fox would 
not want him to go so far away. But he was 
already at the bottom of the hill, and he was 
so very thirsty! 

So he looked all about, and as there was no 
one in sight, he trotted down to the edge of 
the pond. 

Not a thing happened! 

Little-Fox took a long, delicious drink, and 
then he turned and trotted back home. 
Mother-Fox was still in the house at work, 
and Fluff, Yellow-Ball, Lightfoot, and Bushy 
had been so busy playing that they had not 
missed him at all. 

“How foolish it is of Mother Fox to think 


66 


GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 


that I cannot go that far alone,” he said to 
himself. “Some day I must begin to hunt for 
myself. I have heard Father Fox tell all 
about it when I have been listening nights, 
and I am sure 1 should know how to catch 
a chicken. Um, um!” 

That very night, Father Fox came home 
without so much as a partridge for supper. 
The night before he had brought them a fat 
duck, and the night before that a fine, big 
rabbit. But this night there was not a thing 
for supper! 

Fluff, Yellow-Ball, Lightfoot, and Bushy 
obeyed at once and went off to bed, as they 
always did. But Little-Fox had played so 
hard all day that he was just too hungry to 
sleep and so, after every one else was quiet, 
he slipped softly out of the door. 

“I know where Farmer Bell’s chickens 
roost—um, um!—and I’ll just go and get a 
fat chicken and bring it home and surprise 
them all! It is not a bit far away.” 


SHORTY LITTLE-FOX 

Little-Fox trotted along, 
swinging his fine, bushy 
tail this way and that; and 
pretty soon he came to 
Farmer Bell’s orchard. 

Yes, the chickens were 
roosting in the trees as he 
had expected. 

Now to get one down! 

He gave his tail another 
swing, when “Snap!’’ 
Something seemed to 
jump right up off tl 
ground at him, and then, 
oh, how his tail did hurt! 

He turned around 
with a quick bark 
pain, and he saw a 
big thing that he 
knew must be 
a trap, and in 
it was at least 



“HE TURNED AROUND WITH 
A QUICK BARK OF PAIN” 




68 GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 

two-thirds of his beautiful, bushy tail! 

When Little-Fox barked it wakened all the 
chickens, and they began to squawk, and the 
roosters began to crow, and a dog began to 
bark, and then the house door opened and a 
man came running out, shouting as loudly 
as he could. 

Oh, my! how frightened Little-Fox was! 
He ran out of the orchard, and along a stone 
wall, and down through the juniper bushes, 
and past the edge of the pond, and up to the 
door of the home den. 

Then he stole in very softly, and went to 
bed—but dear, dear, how the stump of his 
tail did ache! 

In the morning, when Fluff, Yellow-Ball, 
Lightfoot, and Bushy went out to play, Lit¬ 
tle-Fox was so ashamed that he didn’t want 
anybody to know what had happened. So he 
just sat around on his stump of a tail— 
though it was a very painful thing to sit 
upon. 


SHORTY LITTLE-POX 


69 


But of course he could not sit down all the 
time, and when Mother Fox called them in 
to breakfast, though he walked in behind 
Fluff, Yellow-Ball, Lightfoot, and Bushy, 
Mother Fox discovered what had happened. 

“Why, Little-Fox!” she exclaimed, holding 
up her paws in horror, “where is your tail?” 

And Fluff, Yellow-Ball, Lightfoot, and 
Bushy all ran around him to look. 

Little-Fox just sat down and cried, he was 
so ashamed. But when Father Fox came in 
he had to tell them all about it. 

“When we will not learn by being told,” 
said Father Fox, soberly, “we have to learn 
by experience. And experience is sometimes 
a very painful teacher.” 

But Mother Fox put medicine on his tail, 
and tied up the end of it with a rag—which 
made it look worse than ever! 

And when they went out to play again, 
Fluff, Yellow-Ball, Lightfoot, and Bushy all 
began calling him “Shorty.” 


70 GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 

One day, when his tail was quite well, 
Shorty Little-Fox went off by himself to see 
the Wise Old Owl that lived up in a tree. 

After the Owl had put on his spectacles 
and had looked Shorty Little-Fox over, and 
examined his stumpy tail, he said gravely, 
“If you are very careful to mind all that 
Mother Fox and Father Fox say to you, and 
never run away again perhaps your tail may 
grow longer. But I cannot say for sure.” 

After that Shorty Little-Fox was the best 
little fox you ever saw. And, after awhile, 
as he grew bigger, Shorty Little Fox’s tail 
did get a little bit longer; but it never had 
a nice brush at the end, as did the tails of 
Fluff, Yellow-Ball, Lightfoot, and Bushy. 



The Story of Pip 

THE CHICKEN THAT WANTED TO FLY 



P IP was a dreadfully daring chicken. All 
his life he had slept with his head 
pushed out from under Mother Hen’s wing. 

Brownie, his brother, told him that it was 
dangerous to sleep that way. “You will get 
your head snapped off by a rat or a weasel, 
yet,” said Brownie wisely, “and, besides, you 
are quite likely to take cold.” 

But Pip was not scared a bit. “I want to 
know what is going on,” he said, and kept on 
sleeping in the same dangerous fashion. 

Of course Mother Hen, with a brood of 
eleven chickens could not be expected to 

71 


72 GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 

know where each one put its head, so she was 
spared that worry about Pip. But, dear me, 
she had enough other worries about him! 

To begin with, he was the last chicken out 
of the shell, and she had begun to think that 
he was not going to hatch at all, and had 
nearly lost her patience waiting for him, 
when he finally broke his shell and tumbled 
out. 

“Dear me, child, you’re late enough!” she 
exclaimed. 

But even at that early age she could see 
that he was a strong, smart-looking chicken. 

When the Farm Wife came to take them 
all out of the nest and put them in the pen 
in the yard, Pip did not wait for her to lift 
him out. He fluttered and scrambled up the 
side of the box and tumbled over the edge 
before she could so much as get her hand 
upon him. 

Mother Hen was dreadfully frightened at 
this, but Pip was not hurt in the least, and 


THE STORY OF PIP 


73 


began to scratch for bugs the moment he 
reached the pen. 

One of the first things Mother Hen taught 
her brood was the way she would call them 
if she saw a hawk coming. They all listened 
very carefully, for she told them that hawks 
just loved little chickens to eat. 

After that, whenever she called, they 
would run as fast as possible and hide under 
her wings. But, somehow, Pip was always 
the last one under. It was 
not because he could not 
run fast enough. It 
was just because he 
wanted to catch one 
more bug, or pull 
one more worm out 
of the ground. And 

this worried Mother “PIP WAS ALWAYS THE 

LAST ONE UNDER” 

Hen dreadfully. 

Pip always looked into every gopher hole 
he found; tasted of everything that looked 




74 


GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 


the least bit good to eat, scrambled and flut¬ 
tered to the rim of every box and kettle about 
the barnyard, and once lost his balance on 
the edge of the water pail and was almost 
drowned. 

He was always ready for an adventure of 
any sort; but the thing Pip wanted the very 
most was to fly. He watched the birds that 
hopped about the barnyard, and felt so 
envious whenever one of them flew up into 
a tree! 

When the House Cat came stealing noise¬ 
lessly along on her velvet paws, he felt quite 
vexed because the birds could spread their 
wings and sail away over the House Cat’s 
head, while he could only spread his wings 
and run. 

Often, when he had caught as many bugs 
and worms as his round little crop could hold, 
he would settle down in some cool, dusty cor¬ 
ner and watch the birds. They just spread 
their wings and soared up, up, toward the 


THE STORY OF PIP 


75 


blue sky and the white clouds, and it looked 
so easy. 

He had wings! Why couldn’t he fly? 

Then, sometimes, he would run a little way, 
spread out his wings, and give the biggest 
hop that he could. But he always came, 
bump, down upon the ground, and he couldn’t 
fly a bit. 

But Pip didn’t grow discouraged, and he 
never gave up hope. He didn’t sit down and 
mope because he couldn’t fly. He didn’t 
believe in moping, and, besides, he was 
always too busy to mope. 

Why, he could catch and eat two bugs any 
time, while Brownie was catching one! His 
crop was as round and as hard as a little 
green apple, and so of course he grew bigger 
and fatter than any of his brothers or sisters. 

“Yes,” Mother Hen would say, when gos¬ 
siping with the other hens of the barnyard, 
“I am very proud of Pip; but he does worry 
me, too. He is so dreadfully daring.” 


76 GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 

And the other hens would shake their 
heads and say, “I am really afraid he will 
meet with some sad end.” 

One day, when Pip thought that he was all 
alone, he hopped upon a box and thought he 
would try to fly from there. Perhaps it 
would be easier if he were higher up from 
the ground. He had been watching some 
bluebirds very carefully, and he believed he 
had now learned just how they did it. 

So he spread his wings, flapped them a time 
or two, gave a big jump with his strong little 
legs, and—tumbled right upon his head. 

His head felt very big and very sore when 
he got up, but he wouldn’t have minded that 
much if he had not seen Brownie just then 
standing at the corner of the barn. Brownie 
was looking very much surprised! 

“What did you do that for?” he asked. 

Then Pip drew himself up, just as though 
his head did not hurt a bit, and said in dig¬ 
nified fashion, “I am learning to fly.” 


THE STORY OF PIP 


77 


Brownie disappeared around the corner of 
the barn, and Pip, left to himself, rubbed his 
head a bit, and then ran to look down a new 
gopher hole. 

Brownie found his nine other brothers and 
sisters and told them about Pip; and then 
each one of the nine ran off and told another 
chicken. It wasn’t five minutes before every 
chicken, hen, rooster, duck, goose, and turkey 
in that barnyard knew Pip was trying to fly. 

Then the chickens cheeped, and the hens 
clucked, and the roosters crowed, and the 
ducks quacked, and the geese hissed, and the 
turkeys gobbled, until the Farm Boy came 
running out to see what all the noise was 
about. 

Pip, who was chasing a grasshopper, 
jumped right between the Farm Boy’s feet, 
after the hopper, and the Farm Boy, in try¬ 
ing to keep from stepping on Pip, lost his 
balance and fell flat upon the ground. 

An d he almost fell on Pip. 


78 


GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 


But Pip didn’t care. He had caught the 
grasshopper and it tasted good. 

But from that day on, all the chickens, and 
hens, and roosters, and ducks, and geese, and 
turkeys, teased and tormented Pip because 
he wanted to fly. 

One day, when all the barnyard folk were 
out hunting kernels of grain and fine fat 
bugs, there was a sudden, frightened call 
from Mother Hen. 

“A hawk! a hawk!” it meant. 

Brownie, and his nine little brothers and 
sisters, scampered as fast as ever they could 
to Mother Hen, who had run into the barn, 
and snuggled close down under her feathers. 

All the other chickens, and hens, and roost¬ 
ers, and ducks, and geese, and turkeys ran 
away and hid, too. 

Pip meant to run, but he had a worm 
pulled just half-way out of the ground. It 
was a nice worm, he knew, for he had tasted 
one just like it, two days before. 


THE STORY OF PIP 


79 


“There’s time,” he said to himself, as he 
gave another tug. “No hawk ever caught me 
yet!” 

But just as he opened his bill to swallow 
the worm, something big, and dark, and ter¬ 
rible, came swiftly down upon him. 

He felt a sharp pain in his right wing, and 
then—then he felt himself lifted swiftly into 
the air and carried away from the barnyard 
up, up, toward the clouds. 

Now Pip was scared. His wing hurt 
dreadfully, and the hawk’s big claw was 
holding him tightly, and—he had lost his 
worm! 

“I’ll never see Mother Hen again,” he said 

to himself, “nor Brownie, nor-” but before 

he could say any more, another big bird— 
bigger than the hawk—came through the air, 
straight toward them, and the hawk suddenly 
opened his claw, and Pip dropped. 

Down, down, he went, and—what do you 
suppose? 


80 


GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 



I 



ON THE STRAW STACK” 


He dropped right upon 
the straw stack in the 
barnyard, and—except for 
that pain in his right wing 
—he wasn’t hurt a bit! 

But scared! He was the 
scaredest little chicken 
you ever saw! 

He climbed down from 
the straw stack, and scam¬ 
pered under Mother Hen’s 
wing—with his head out, 
as usual. 

Mother Hen had never 
been so frightened in all 
her life, before, and now 
she put her head down to 
see if it really could be Pip 
back under her wing again. 

“Next time I’ll surely 
run when you call me,” Pip 
said, softly into her ear. 









THE STORY OF PIP 


81 


But by this time all the chickens, and hens, 
and roosters, and ducks, and geese, and tur¬ 
keys, had come out of the coops, and barns, 
and sheds, where they had run to hide. And 
when they saw Pip back, safe and sound, they 
all began to cheep, and cluck, and crow, and 
quack, and hiss, and gobble, until there was 
such a noise that you could not hear yourself 
think. Then, they all gathered around Pip. 

“What a dreadful thing to have happen to 
you!” said one of the hens, shaking her head 
as though she had always expected it. 

“What a mercy that you came back alive!” 
said one of the geese. 

“What a very strange escape!” said one of 
the ducks. 

“Why didn’t you run sooner ?” asked one of 
the roosters. 

“Perhaps you will mind better next time!” 
said one of the turkeys. 

Pip listened to them all. He wasn’t so 
scared now. He had bad time to think a 


82 


GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 


little, and he came out from under Mother 
Hen’s feathers. 

He put his head on one side, and flapped 
his wings a bit—although his right wing hurt 
like everything when he flapped it—drew 
himself up as tall as possible, and said: 

“Well, anyway, I FLEW!” 

Then he scampered back under Mother 
Hen’s wing—with his head out, as usual. 
But never before had the shelter of Mother 
Hen’s wing seemed so warm, and soft, and— 
safe! 


Nibblekin 

THE MOUSE THAT ATE A KITTEN 

AJI BBLEK IX was just a coll it 11 on-loo Ivin g 
gray mouse. But Nibblekin was not a 
common mouse. No indeed! 

Did you ever hear of a common mouse eat¬ 
ing a kitten? Of course not. 

But that is just what Nibblekin did, and I 
will tell you how he did it. 

Nibblekin lived in a little cottage with 
Father Mouse and Mother Mouse, and a lot 
of brother and sister mice. In the same cot¬ 
tage lived Betty Brown, with Father Brown 
and Mother Brown. But they do not count 
very much in my story, except that Betty 
Brown owned the kitten that Nibblekin ate. 

83 


84 


GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 


Of course Father Brown and Mother 
Brown did not know at all that Father Mouse 
and his family lived in their cottage. If they 
had I am very much afraid that they would 
have driven them away, and then my story 
would never have been written. 

Mother Brown was a very particular house¬ 
keeper, and she never left bits of food about 
—not even crumbs. This made living very 
hard for the mice. Indeed, it was really the 
cause of Nibblekin’s eating the kitten. He 
just had to eat the kitten or starve! 

One night after Betty Brown, and Father 
Brown, and Mother Brown had all gone to 
bed, and to sleep, Nibblekin started out to see 
what he could find to eat. 

It was in the spring, and Mother Brown 
had just finished housecleaning—which made 
it even harder than usual for the mice to 
pick up a living. Nibblekin went first to the 
pantry, but there was not so much as a crumb 
on the floor, and all the food was shut away 


NIBBLEKIN 


85 


behind glass doors. It was dreadful to look 
at all the beautiful pies, and cakes, and 
cheese, and not be able to get a single bite. 
But Nibblekin knew that he could not gnaw 
through glass doors, so he sat up and sniffed 
and sniffed as hard as ever he could, and then 
he jumped down and ran to the cellar. 

But he could not find anything in the cellar 
except coal, and some cans of paint, and some 
jars of the nicest looking preserves with the 
covers screwed down tight. 

It was most discouraging! 

He went back to Mother Mouse with his 
tail dragging in a dreadfully disappointed 
way. 

“There is not a thing to eat!” he exclaimed. 
“I have looked everywhere.” 

“Did you look in the attic?” asked Mother 

Mouse. 

“I have looked there dozens of times, and 
there is never a crumb to be found,” replied 
Nibblekin. 


86 


GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 


“One never can tell,” sighed Mother 
Mouse, for she was feeling rather discour¬ 
aged herself. 

“Well, I will try again,” answered Nibble- 
kin, for he was dreadfully hungry. 

The attic stairs were steep and very hard 
to climb, and when Nibblekin reached the top 
he sat down to rest. 

“Dear me!” he said to himself, “I am so 
hungry. I believe I am nothing but a hole 
with skin around it. If there is not anything 
to eat in this attic, I shall starve.” 

Then he crept softly to the door and looked 
in. “My stars!” he exclaimed, jumping back 
quickly, and shivering with fright. “There’s 
a cat!” 

He sat still in the corner for a whole min¬ 
ute. Then he carefully looked again. 

The cat had not moved. 

“It is not a cat,” said Nibblekin. “It is 
just a kitten.” But he squeezed himself back 
into the corner as far as he could and he 


NIBBLEKIN 


87 


hardly breathed for fear the kitten would 
hear him. However, he kept one eye out 
where he could see. 

The kitten kept perfectly still. 

Nibblekin began to feel cramped, sitting 
up in the corner so close. He sat down 
where he could see with both eyes. 

Still the kitten did not move. 

“Funniest kitten I ever saw!” said Nibble¬ 
kin, to himself. Then he moved a little 
farther from the corner, but the kitten did 
not even turn her head. 

“Squeak!” said Nibblekin, growing very 
bold—but all ready to run. 

The kitten did not look at him. 

“She must have had all she wants to eat,” 
thought Nibblekin, “and so she pretends she 
does not see me. Probably Betty Brown gave 
her a good supper. I wish I had had one!” 

Then Nibblekin grew very bold. He went 
farther out into the attic. 

The kitten did not turn her head. 


GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 


“She is a proud thing,” said Nibblekin, 
“but I am not afraid of her.” He sat down 
directly in front of the kitten and impudently 
wiggled his whiskers. 

But that proud cat did not pay the least bit 
of attention to him. 

“Humph!” said Nibblekin, “I believe she is 
a ’fraid cat. She is afraid of a mouse, I know 
she is.” And with that he went straight up 
to her and nibbled one of her toes. 

Then he scampered back to his corner as 
fast as ever he could go. 

“I did not know kittens tasted so good as 
that,” he said, licking his lips delightedly. 
“Why,” he added, sitting up very straight, 
“come to think of it, probably nobody ever 
found it out before. I do not suppose any of 
our family ever tasted cat!” 

After awhile Nibblekin ventured out from 
his corner again. He sat down and nibbled 
at that kitten’s toes, and he kept on nibbling, 
and nibbling, and nibbling. It was the best 


nibblekin 


89 


supper he ever had had in his life. And after 
awhile, when his stomach was so full that he 
could not eat any more, he sat right up in 
front of the kitten and washed his face. 

Then he looked at the kitten, and he said 
to himself, “She does not look quite so proud 
as she did. She has found that I am not 
afraid of her, if I am a mouse,” and with that 
he ran back down stairs and curled up for a 
nap. 

In the morning he was awakened by a fret¬ 
ting and scolding. “I have not found a 
mouthful to eat, all night,” said Father 
Mouse. 

“Nor I,” said Mother Mouse. 

“Nor I,” said all the brother and sister 
mice. 

“Why, I did,” exclaimed Nibblekin. “I 
had the finest supper I ever ate in my life.” 

“What was it?” asked Father Mouse and 
all the other mice in chorus. 

“It was kitten,” said Nibblekin. 


90 GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 

“Kitten!” shouted all the mice together. 
“I guess you must have been dreaming.” 

Nibblekin thought a minute. It really did 
not seem possible! Then he rubbed his paws 
over his stomach. 

“No, I did not dream it,” he answered. 
“There was a proud kitten in the attic. She 
had had so much supper that she did not 
want to eat me, so I ate her.” 

“Stuff!” said Father Mouse. “What do you 
want to talk like that for?” 

“Nibblekin,” said Mother Mouse, “you 
must not tell such make-believe stories.” 

“Ho-ho,” laughed all the brother and sister 
mice. “Do you expect us to believe tliatV ’ 

“Well,” said Nibblekin, “I left plenty of 
her for breakfast. You come along and see.” 
And with that he started up the attic stairs. 

The rest followed: the brother and sister 
mice with squeaks of scorn, and Father 
Mouse and Mother Mouse looking rather 
foolish. 


NIBBLEKIN 


91 


Nibblekin marched 
boldly until lie reached 
the door of the attic. 
Then he stopped and 
looked in rather care¬ 
fully. 

There sat the kitten, 
just where he had left 
her, but looking a little 
limp and somewhat bent 
over. 

“She is probably hun¬ 
gry by now,” thought 
Nibblekin to himself, 




HE STARTED UP 
THE ATTIC STAIRS 


















































92 


GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 


“and perhaps she will want to eat me.” So 
he “squeaked” again, as he had the night 
before, but the kitten did not move. 

“I surely killed her last night,” he said, and 
calling up all his courage he walked boldly 
on and, before the astonished eyes of the fam¬ 
ily, began nibbling at the kitten’s toes. 

After the third mouthful, Nibblekin looked 
up. “Come on,” he called. “There is enough 
for you, too.” 

But before Father Mouse, and Mother 
Mouse, and the brother and sister mice had 
time to get over their surprise, there was a 
great noise on the stairs, and Nibblekin and 
all the rest scampered into the darkest cor¬ 
ners, just as Betty Brown’s head appeared 
above the attic stairs. 

“Poor Puss,” she cooed. “Did I forget you 
and leave you in the attic all night?” 

And then Betty Brown screamed. 

Catching up the limp looking kitten, she 
cried, “Oh, you poor, poor kitten! A mouse 


NIBBLEKIN 


93 


must have been trying to eat you, and the 
Iran is all running out of your toes. Oh, I 
am so sorry I forgot you!” 

Then Betty Brown caught the limp-looking 
kitten up in her arms and carried it down 
stairs; and when it was all quiet in the attic 
again the mice came out, one by one, from 
their hiding places. 

“What did I tell you!” said Nibblekin, 
looking around at the family, and curving his 
tail proudly. “Did you not hear Betty say 
that I killed and ate her kitten?” 

But all the brother mice were too aston¬ 
ished to answer. 

And all the sister mice were too astonished 
to answer. 

Mother Mouse could only nod her head. 

“Yes,” answered Father Mouse at last, “it 
is altogether a most marvelous thing! I never 
heard of anything to equal it in all the his¬ 
tory of Mousedom. I shall tell it to all the 
mice in the county.” 


94 


GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 


And every one of Nibblekin’s brothers and 
sisters vowed that they would eat the first 
kitten that they met! 

Of course I shall have to admit that they 
did not—but that has nothing to do with my 
story of Nibblekin and the kitten that he ate. 







Henny Speckle’s Daddies 

WHO WOULD NOT WEAR A BIB 

TTENNY SPECKLE was a regular old 
fuss. She fussed when the ducks went 
in swimming—as though that were any of 
her affair. 

She fussed when the colts went galloping- 
out of the barn—as though that were any of 
her affair. 

She fussed when the turkeys went about 
the barnyard saying, “Gobble, gobble, gob¬ 
ble,”—as though that were any of her affair. 

Henny Speckle had one chicken, named 

95 


96 GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 

Daddies. At least he was supposed to be 
Henny Speckle’s chicken, for she surely had 
hatched him out of an egg after three weeks 
of patient waiting. 

All the other chickens of Henny Speckle’s 
brood had died soon after they were hatched, 
and the neighbor hens all said it was because 
Henny Speckle fussed so over them. 

But that may have been mere gossip. 

At any rate, Daddies lived on, and his 
mother’s fussing never seemed to disturb him 
in the least. Probably that was the reason 
he lived. 

Henny Speckle was a very small hen—a 
very small hen, indeed! But Daddies was 
very large and awkward. It disturbed Henny 
Speckle to have Daddies so large. 

“I cannot understand it at all,” she said one 
day to Mrs. Bantam. “I come of a very small 
family, and I do not see why Daddies should 
be such a big, awkward chicken.” 

“Why, my dear,” said Mrs. Bantam wisely, 


HENNY SPECKLE’S DADDLES 


97 


“he probably was hatched out of a very large 
egg.” 

Henny Speckle was quiet for an unusually 
long time, and then she said, “Come to think 



“IT DISTURBED HENNY SPECKLE TO HAVE DADDLES SO LARGE” 


of it, there was one very large egg in the nest. 
Most likely that was Daddies!” 

“Most likely,” replied Mrs. Bantam, return¬ 
ing to her search for tender worms—for she 
had a whole brood of little bantams to scratch 
for, and it left her little time for talking. 

One day when Daddies was eating his corn 
meal he dropped some of it on his yellow 
feather vest. 




98 GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 

“Daddies Speckle!” exclaimed his mother. 
“Have you no better eating manners than 
that? Just see what a spot you have made 
on your vest!” 

Daddies looked down and tried to eat the 
bit of mush off his vest. But it was too close 
to his bill. He could not reach it. 

“I shall make you a bib this very morning,” 
exclaimed his mother, “and you shall wear it 
after this whenever you eat!” And with that 
she walked off and began to look for stuff for 
Daddies’ bibs. 

“A bib!” said Daddies to himself, when his 
mother’s back was turned. “A bib!” 

And with that he just ran down the lane 
and out between the boards of the gate, and 
hid himself in the tall grass at the edge of the 
ditch. 

As he sat there, all snuggled down out of 
sight of the farmyard, a rabbit came hopping 
along the road and saw him. 

“What are you doing there?” asked the 


HENNY SPECKLE’S DADDLES 99 

rabbit, sitting up on his hind legs and wig¬ 
gling liis nose. 

Daddies tried to wiggle his nose, too, but 
it was not made like the rabbit’s and it would 
not wiggle. 

“What are you hiding for?” asked the rab¬ 
bit, with a stamp of his foot. 

“I am hiding from Mother,” replied Dad¬ 
dies, though he hated to say it. 

“What for?” asked the rabbit briefly. 
“Been bad?” 

“Yes,” admitted Daddies. “I dropped some 
meal on my yellow feather vest, and Mother 
said she was going to make me a bib to wear 
when I ate—so I ran away.” 

The rabbit wiggled his nose very hard for 
a minute, and then he said, “I would not 
wear a bib, either. Come along with me.” 

So Daddies ran out into the road and 
trotted along beside the rabbit, who went 
hop, hop, hop, so fast that Daddies could 
hardly keep up with him. 






























HENNY SPECKLE’S DADDLES 101 

It was very hot and dusty in the road, but 
the rabbit kept hop-hopping along, and Dad¬ 
dies had to take a great many steps to match 
one hop of the rabbit. Besides, he had to 
take them very fast. 

At last they met a crow sitting on a fence 
by the roadside, and the rabbit stopped. My! 
but Daddies was glad! 

The rabbit sat up on his hind feet, wiggled 
his nose, and asked, “Jim Crow, would you 
wear a bib V’ 

“Naw, naw, naw!” screamed the crow. And 
then he flapped his wings and flew away. 

“He is not very polite,” said the rabbit, 
“but, you see, he thinks just as we do about 
the bib.” Then he wiggled his nose and 
hopped on. 

Daddies ran along as fast as he could, but 
he did wish the rabbit would slow up a bit. 
However, he did not like to ask him, so he 
waved his small wings to see if that would 
help him get over the ground. 


102 


GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 


After traveling several miles farther—at 
least it seemed miles to Daddies—they saw 
a squirrel sitting on a stump at the edge of 
a field. 

The rabbit stopped, wiggled his nose, and 
inquired, “Bushy Tail, would you wear a 
bib ?” 

“A bib!” said the squirrel. “A bib! Why, 
house-children wear those. Indeed, I would 
not.” And he whisked down off the stump, 
ran up a tall tree, and began chattering and 
scolding after the pair for asking such a silly 
question. 

While Henny Speckle was hunting for 
stuff for Daddies’ bibs, Mrs. Bantam came by 
and stopped for a chat. As Henny Speckle 
was thinking about Daddies and his naughti¬ 
ness, she naturally began to talk about him. 

“I cannot see why Daddies should be so 
awkward,” she said fretfully. 

“Why, what is the matter?” asked Mrs. 
Bantam. 


HENNY SPECKLE’S DADDLES 103 

“He ate so fast and so clumsily/’ replied 
Henny Speckle, ruffling up her feathers, 
“that he dropped some of his meal on his 
yellow feather vest and spotted it dreadfully. 
I told him I should make him wear a bib 
after this, and I am looking for stuff to make 
some out of,” she added. 

“Why, here is a piece of red calico, this 
minute,” she exclaimed. “The milkmaid tore 
it off her apron. That will make a splendid 
bib.” 

“And here is a piece of blue gingham,” 
called Mrs. Bantam. “The house-baby caught 
his dress on a nail in the fence. I saw him.” 

“That will make two,” said Henny Speckle; 
and she took the bits of cloth and hung them 
upon a long stem, which made a beautiful 
clothesline. And then she turned about and 
began looking for Daddies. 

“Cluck, cluck!” she called. “Cluck, cluck!” 
But Daddies did not come. 

“Dear me!” Henny Speckle began fuss- 


104 


GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 


ing. “Was there ever a mother that had so 
much trouble with a family? How Biddy 
Leghorn gets along with ten is more than I 
can understand. Cluck, cluck! Cluck, 
cluck!” 

But still Daddies did not come. 

Then Henny Speckle ran to Mrs. Bantam 
and told her that Daddies was lost. Then 
she and Mrs. Bantam told Biddy Leghorn 
and Chicken Pinfeather that Daddies was 
lost, and in a few moments the whole barn¬ 
yard was in an uproar. 

Chickens, geese, ducks, and turkeys were 
all flying this way and that, looking into 
boxes, poking under the barn, and scratch¬ 
ing up dark corners—but nobody could find 
Daddies! 

Henny Speckle flew back and forth and 
was almost beside herself, she was so wor¬ 
ried. And every time she passed the little 
stem which held the red and the blue bibs 
she stopped and wiped her tears upon them. 


HENNY SPECKLE’S DADDLES 105 

“They are all I have to remind me of Dad¬ 
dies!” she said. 

And all the time, without ever guessing 
what a fuss he was causing in the farmyard, 
Daddies was running and flying along beside 
the rabbit. 

The sun was very hot, and it seemed to 
Daddies that the rabbit hopped faster than 
ever. 

But he did not want to go back. No, 
indeed! Did not every bird and animal they 
met think just as he did about wearing a 
bib? Of course! 

After a very long time it began to grow a 
wee bit dark, and up in a tree by the road¬ 
side they discovered an owl, just sleepily 
opening one eye. 

“I say, Blink Eyes,” cried the rabbit, 
stamping his foot and wiggling his nose, 
“would you wear a bib?” 

And the owl shouted back slowly, “Who-o, 
who-o ?” 


106 GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 

“Nobody, I am sure,” replied the rabbit, 
starting on again. 

But it was beginning to get dark now, and 
Daddies began to wonder where the rabbit 
slept, and what Henny Speckle was doing, 
and where he was going to spend the night. 

He remembered how soft and quiet and 
comfortable it was under Henny Speckle’s 
wings—but then he thought of the bib, and 
he stiffened his little legs and ran on as fast 
as he could. 

Just at that moment there came walking 
down the road the most beautiful creature 
that Daddies ever had seen. Its feathers 
were dark green and shone as though they 
had been dipped in melted gold. Its head 
was covered with the same beautiful feath¬ 
ers, and its throat and breast were pure, daz¬ 
zling white. 

The rabbit stopped short in the road and 
said politely, “How do you do?” Then he 
added, “May I ask if you would wear a bib?” 


HENNY SPECKLE’S DADDLES 


107 


And the duck—for it was a duck—an¬ 
swered, “Yes, indeed. Do you not see that 
I wear one? I am very proud of it, you may 
be sure.” 

And at that the rabbit stamped his foot, 
wiggled his nose just once, and dashed off 
into the woods—leaving poor, tired Daddies 
to his fate. 

“Dear me,” exclaimed Daddies, “what shall 
I do now ? I do not know the way home, and 
I am afraid to go home, anyway.” 

“What is the trouble?” asked the duck 
politely. 

And at that, Daddies just told him all 
about it. 

“I would not care,” he added, as he finished 
his story, “if Mother could make me a beauti¬ 
ful bib like yours. But I am afraid it will be 
a horrid bib made out of a rag, like house- 
babies wear, and tied about my neck with a 
string.” 

The duck looked at Daddies a moment, and 


108 GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 

then he said, “You shall have a bib like mine! 
Come on back to the farmyard.” 

At that, the beautiful duck went waddling 
down the road, and Daddies was really glad 
to go back with him. 

He did not have to run to keep up with the 
duck, as he had to keep up with the rabbit. 
Instead, the duck seemed to travel along just 
the way that Daddies liked to travel. 

Daddies somehow never had been able to 
keep step with Mother Henny Speckle when 
they went walking together, and she had 
done a great deal of fussing at him about it, 
too. 

He never had let the fussing trouble him 
at all for he really could not keep step with 
her, so what was the use? 

Now he kept wondering, as he went along 
the road, if he really could have a white 
feather bib, like the duck’s. 

It was almost dark in the farmyard. 
Henny Speckle had worked herself into a 


HENNY SPECKLE’S DADDLES 


109 


fever, and, at last, holding the red bib fast 
in one claw and the blue bib fast in the other, 
she had rolled over upon her back and closed 
her eyes. 

Just then Mrs. Bantam and Biddy Leghorn 
and Chicken Pinfeather all called out to¬ 
gether, “Here comes Daddies! Here comes 
Daddies!” 

And into the farmyard walked Mr. Drake 
—the duck—with the truant, Daddies. 

Mr. Drake waddled up to Henny Speckle, 
who dropped the bibs and hopped upon her 
feet. 

“Do not scold Daddies,” said Mr. Drake, 
for Henny Speckle had begun ruffling up her 
feathers. “He really could not wear a rag 
bib, like a house-baby, you know, and so he 
ran away.” 

Henny Speckle gave a scratch or two with 
her feet and covered the little rag bibs quite 
out of sight in the dust. But she pretended 
that she was only curtsying to Mr. Brake. 


110 GOING TO SCHOOL IN ANIMAL LAND 

“If you will be patient,” Mr. Drake con¬ 
tinued, “Daddies will, before long, have a fine 
feather bib of his own making—just like my 
own. Believe me; it is quite true. But you 
must be patient and wait.” 

And Henny Speckle was so glad to see 
Daddies safe back in the farmyard that she 
made up her mind to take Mr. Drake’s advice 
and say nothing more about the bibs. She 
would just wait, and keep Daddies with her. 

“After a while,” Mr. Drake went on, “if 
you will just be patient, all that I have said 
will come true. As Da,ddles grows his feathers 
will come out a beautiful, shining green, and 
on his throat and neck will be a fine, white 
feather bib, just like mine. Because, you 
see, Daddies is not a chicken at all. 

“He is a duck!” 

Henny Speckle never said a word. She 
just held out one wing, and Daddies waddled 
under it, the tiredest, happiest little fellow in 
all the whole big farmyard. 


HENNY SPECKLE’S DADDLES 111 

“My, how soft and comfortable and quiet 
it is under here,” thought Daddies, as he 
folded up his tired little legs. 

And in another moment he was fast asleep. 


























































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